Students often direct their own learning in teacher Renee Drewicke's fifth-grade classroom at Herman Elementary School in Herman. Mrs. Drewicke co-created a program called the "Teacher's Toolbox," a collection of tools that students use to make choices about what they learn. By setting their own due dates and objectives, they learn responsibility and discipline. She also divides students into "literature circles" to discuss books they have read, with students acting as discussion directors. As a result, Mrs. Drewicke's students consistently achieve good scores on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment writing exam. She trains fellow teachers in the "Teacher's Toolbox" and in the use of benchmarks to show students how to assess their own work. In addition to teaching fifth grade, Mrs. Drewicke teaches science to sixth graders and chairs the district's technology committee.
1996 University of Minnesota - Morris, B.A.
